G.M. Goes to Germany to Reaffirm Support for Opel

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Daniel Akerson, chairman and chief executive of G.M., center, visited Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany, where a piece of the Berlin Wall that will stand in front of the headquarters was unveiled.CreditCreditArne Dedert/DPA, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

RÜSSELSHEIM, GERMANY — As they prepare to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, top managers of General Motors sought to dispel any doubts about the company’s commitment to its unprofitable Opel unit in Europe, reiterating plans to invest billions in new models and break even by the middle of the decade.

“We are more convinced than ever that G.M. must have a strong presence in Europe generally and particularly — especially — here in Germany,” Daniel F. Akerson, the chairman and chief executive of G.M., said Wednesday at the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, near Frankfurt.

Several hundred Opel employees crowded onto balconies overlooking an atrium in the office building where Mr. Akerson and other G.M. executives spoke. The workers applauded after Karl-Thomas Neumann, Opel’s fourth chief executive since 2010, vowed that, “Opel is back!”

G.M. is the fourth-largest automaker in the European Union measured by number of cars sold, including the Chevrolet brand. But Opel, sold under the Vauxhall brand in Britain, has been among the manufacturers hit hardest by a relentless downturn in European auto sales that began in 2011.

Sales of Opel and Vauxhall in Europe fell 16 percent in February from a year earlier, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, while market share slipped to 6.1 percent from 6.4 percent, less than half of what the market leader, Volkswagen, claims.

A few months ago some auto executives were predicting that European sales were close to hitting bottom, but there is no sign of a revival yet. Daimler, the German maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, said Wednesday that it might need to reassess its sales forecasts for 2013 because of the prolonged slump in Europe.

G.M.’s board of directors held a regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday in Rüsselsheim, site of a large Opel factory and design center. It was the first time the board had met in Germany for at least two decades, company representatives said. The board’s presence was probably intended to help correct the widespread impression among Germans that G.M. regarded Opel as an unwanted stepchild.

Mr. Akerson’s appearance had the quality of a state visit. He arrived for a press event in Rüsselsheim with an entourage that included the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Philip D. Murphy, and the prime minister of the state of Hesse, Volker Bouffier. Mr. Akerson will meet Thursday with Ms. Merkel, but neither G.M. nor the chancellor’s office has said what is on the agenda.

Mr. Akerson repeated a promise to invest €4 billion, or $5.2 billion, in Europe through 2016.

The money will be used to introduce 23 new models and variants of existing models, as well as 13 new engines.

“Opel is paving the way for the biggest turnaround in the history of the European auto industry,” Stephen J. Girsky, vice chairman of G.M., said at the event Wednesday.

But Opel has yet to prove that the latest turnaround attempt will achieve better results than previous efforts. Opel has not reported a profit since the 1990s. Its employees have suffered waves of job cuts and there is currently a wage freeze in effect at German plants.

Opel plans to close down vehicle production at a plant in Bochum, Germany, as early as next year.

But Opel appears, at least, to have finally achieved détente with workers after years of strife that helped tarnish the brand’s image. Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug, chairman of the workers’ council at Opel, spoke at the event Wednesday, expressing gratitude for what he said was a clear commitment from G.M.

Mr. Bouffier, the state prime minister, noted that many previous turnaround plans failed. “We have often had hopes that a short time later were disappointed,” he said at the event. But he expressed optimism that this time could be different.

“No company invests €4 billion in such a short time unless it believes in the future,” Mr. Bouffier said.

After the speeches were over, the executives and political leaders moved outdoors where they stood in a stiff wind and revealed a slab of concrete that was once part of the Berlin Wall. The graffiti-covered slab will stand in front of the headquarters to encourage workers to overcome obstacles, Opel said, and as a symbol of the new era that the company hopes lies ahead.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: A G.M. Visit to Germany
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